ok to be more constructive let me give you a real world example. I had a headset with big ear buds that the client wanted me to animate rotating. Its a cad file with a 10 parts for the ear bud. It was grouped but the orientation was way off. All I wanted to do was move the orientation of the pivot so that it would move correctly. It would have been 1 click in XSI. In the end I sent the scene to Softimage. Got a null matched transforms for the ear bud. Rotated so that it was at the right angle and then sent the nulls as locators to Maya and put the Earbud group under the locator. I didnt do that with maya because I didnt want to do the redundant workflow of point constraining locator to ear bud group and then removing constraints. Again one click in XSI. Match all transforms.
On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 6:33 PM, John Richard Sanchez < [email protected]> wrote: > I don' know if you saw my rant about this on a Maya job I did last week > but all I can say is HELL YES we use the center a lot. I am not sure why > you even have to ask. > > > On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 5:50 PM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I'm not sure I see how that would easily solve my problem without >> introducing other problems, risks, or complex workflow. I don't even see >> how it competes with Softimage's method. >> >> I have geometry that is sometimes generated in CAD or provided from other >> sources. The geometry, and its relative components often have to remain in >> their relative positions. But I need to define custom articulations. I >> often have more freedom to cheat on the articulations than I do on the >> topology. >> >> If in Maya I select the aileron, rotate it till the pivot matches the >> rotation angle I want, then select all the points of the aileron and >> attempt to back rotate them until the geometry matches its previous >> position against the new rotation angle, can I do that? Yes, but with >> caveats: >> >> 1. If I select components and proceed to back rotate the geometry by >> using the Channnel editor, why do I lose the numerical channel editor >> transform entries. This would have been the intuitive approach because >> that's how we do this with object selection. But there is no congruency >> here. It would be my first anticipation on how it might be achieved. >> >> 2. Might it be possible to eyeball the back rotation with just the >> manipulator? Yes, but what does that do to the accuracy of my geometry >> position? I might possibly be less concerned for the accuracy in the >> rotation angle than in the placement of the geometry. Either way one or the >> other must sacrificed. In this scenario Maya forces me to sacrifice >> geometry position. What if I don't want to sacrifice that? >> >> 3. What if I am rotating this on more than one axis? Can I use the >> Channel Editor's CV list to accomplish this? How do I know what vertex >> coordinates to enter here? Can I use it at all? Strike three in >> anticipating a potential method. >> >> 4. polyMoveVertex . So yes there is a way to do this in Maya. Assuming I >> have an object under another in a hierarchy I: >> >> a. select the child object that I want change its pivot angle >> >> b. rotate the object -30 degrees in Z >> >> c. select component type >> *in the event you were in component type already and selected the object >> from the outliner, component type is still active but object is selected, >> you then have to select object type and reselect component type just to get >> back to component selection or make a new component selection. >> >> d. select all components on the object >> >> e. go to polygon module (if you're not there already) >> >> f. go to Edit mesh -> Transform Component (I now get a >> polyMoveVertex operator in my Input stack). >> >> g. enter a positive 30 degrees in Z, geometry is now back rotated >> >> h. return to object type >> >> i. hit Edit -> Delete by Type -> History ( Assuming I have >> construction history on. Further why can't I just >> right-click delete history on this operator?) >> >> >> Yet how simple are any of these approaches compared to: >> >> Select the Object, Select Center, enter -30 at the Rotate >> transform? >> >> Yes in Maya I can do this, but is it easy? Is it risky if I tried to do >> it using solely a manipulator? Is it intuitive? Why must I use a >> polyMoveVertex operator to do this? Why can't I just switch to Component >> Type and maintain use of the Channel editor's Transform entries? How much >> planning is required? >> >> Is there another way in Maya to do this? I don't recall, I got used to >> making null rigs. >> >> In Maya its easier, more forgiving, and simpler to just go the null rig >> route. I think its potentially appropriate to argue that it might also be >> good form. It introduces far less risk or possibility of mis-selecting >> vertices, putting the vertices in the wrong place, damage to geometry. But >> it's not more intuitive than Center. >> >> Yes the null rig method can also be done in Softimage as an alternative >> method to using Center. Softimage also supports the vertex back-rotation >> through a Cluster. >> >> This is not an issue of whether Maya provides us the ability to do these >> things. It does. And very reliably. The question is whether it provides >> these abilities in an intuitive and user friendly manner. It's a matter of >> human factors. >> >> But to be fair, Softimage had its own issues with this problem. Just far >> fewer than Maya. >> >> -- >> Joey Ponthieux >> __________________________________________________ >> Opinions stated here-in are strictly those of the author and do not >> represent the opinions of NASA or any other party. >> >> >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: [email protected] [mailto:softimage- >> > [email protected]] On Behalf Of Luc-Eric Rousseau >> > Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2014 11:26 AM >> > To: [email protected] >> > Subject: Re: Center mode (was RE: humanize Maya, SOFT top 5) >> > >> > On Wed, Apr 2, 2014 at 8:30 AM, Ponthieux, Joseph G. (LARC-E1A)[LITES] >> > <[email protected]> wrote: >> > > Maya: I have to create a set of multiple nulls with custom >> rotations to >> > > set up the angle of rotation properly for the surface. If I want to >> > > rotate the surface I have to dig through all these nulls to get to the >> > > right one, select and rotate it just to rotate the surface. >> > >> > Is that always true in your scenarios? Moving center in Softimage is >> like >> > moving all the points of the geometry. (What brent calls "transforming >> the >> > geometry") Knowing that it does that, wouldn't the simplest work-around >> for >> > your specific scenario in Maya be to select all points and move/rotate >> them. >> >> > > > -- > www.johnrichardsanchez.com > -- www.johnrichardsanchez.com
